Women more concerned about physical appearance, than serious diseases

Meredith Corporation and NBC Universal announces the second in a series of findings from the “What do Women Want?” survey.

The below findings from the nationwide survey conducted among more than 3,000 women reveal key insights on the female psyche across topics including health and well-being:

When it comes to health, women are more concerned about diet/weight (56%) and eating right (36%) than they are about cancer (23%), cardiovascular/heart health (20%), and diabetes (18%).

Many women are skipping important medical examinations, including annual physicals and cancer screenings.

Less than two-thirds (59%) of all women get an annual physical, even lower among Gen Y women (44%).

Nearly one-third of Boomer women are not getting their important annual mammograms, cholesterol checks or physicals.

62% of women regularly give themselves a breast self-examination, while only 14% of all women get a skin cancer screening at least once a year.

Four in 10 women report that they are more than 20 pounds overweight.

Gen Y women are more likely than Gen X and Boomer women to say they are at their ideal weight (29% vs. 9%, 7% respectively).

Relatively few (4%) overweight women say they would consider surgery as a weight reduction strategy; a substantial number say they would consider exercise (76%) and improving their diet (75%) to lose weight.

Still, when it comes to achieving a healthy lifestyle, more women opt for simple strategies like “drinking more water” and “eating more fruits and vegetables” than more disciplined approaches like “exercising three times a week”, “lowering calorie intake”, “watching their sugar intake” and “using portion control.”

Not surprisingly, women are sensitive about their own weight, with 4 in 10 (40%) who say it’s wrong for a man to tell a woman that she’s overweight

However, relatively fewer women think it’s wrong for a woman to tell a man he’s overweight (32%) or a parent to tell a child he or she is overweight (26%).

Most women think the battle of the bulge starts at the schools at an early age; the majority of moms claim that while their child(ren) eat junk food, it’s “not when I’m around”

7 Responses

I would say from personal experience, that a big reason why young woman are skipping doctor’s appointments is because of the way they are treated at the doctor. First of all, you can’t get an appointment for three or four weeks from when you call, and their first appointment is 9 and the last is four, so I have to miss work. Then, when I get there, I sit in the waiting room for an hour beyond my appointment time, only to be moved into another room where I sit waiting for the doctor to come in. When the doctor does finally come in, he/she is brusque, at best, and when I try to voice any concerns I have, I am cut off and made so nervous that I forget what else I wanted to ask about.
This is not exclusive to one doctor, either. I have seen a multitude of doctors and specialists over the last year and a half, and they were ALL like that.
I finally started going to see a holistic nurse practicioner in Delmar. The approach is totally different. My wait is brief, and my doctor seems to have all the time in the world to discuss my concerns. If more doctors would take this approach, I think more women would go to the doctor.

I guess I’ve been very lucky – ob/gyn excellent, primary is excellent and the many specialists I’ve seen (Since I’m at high risk for breast cancer and have had 3 biopsies) are all wonderful. Not sure if we’re allowed to share names…..

I have to say that I love both my OB/GYN and my general practitioner. My OB/GYN…not sure if it’s the same as Kristi used to go to in Troy, down in the Medical Arts Building next to SS…??? But I have had nothing wrong happen there. When I first started going there, I had just found out I was pregnant and got an appointment immediately with my doctor that I chose with my insurance. (Dr. Mary Elaqua) After the initial visit I think I saw her two or three times. The rest I saw a variety of mid-wives that I adore! I have seen 3 of the 4 ( I believe there are 4 main Dr’s in the practice) and have seen probably all of the mid-wives. After I had my second daughter, I returned for a check up and when my results came back a little off, they immediately called me and asked me to come in for a second look. Everything turned out normal the second time.

My GP is great. (Dr. Luz Peguero) Yeah, it’s a bit hard to get into see her if it’s for just a general check-up, but if it’s an emergency, they get us in every time the same day. When a general check up is needed, I think the longest we have had to wait was maybe 3 or 4 days. The last two years I have had to go in for treatment of asthmatic bronchitis and have been able to get in mere hours after my call. She is in practice with another dr. and if she is out or on vacation the other dr makes sure to see you in a day or so. And it’s not like the office isn’t busy…they are extremely busy, but they are good about getting someone in when needed. And my dr is a very nice woman. She is always cheerful and joking around with everyone and her staff also is very nice and cordial.

I love both my doctors…which is huge for me because I have never liked doctors….